Momento Musings - our blog on all things Photo Books

Your guide to all things photo books

Care should be taken when spanning and positioning photos over the gutter so you don’t lose important details in the binding. Discover how to avoid one-eyed subjects and missing limbs, plus the benefits of Lay-flat Lustre paper.

Preserving a creative project in a photo book

Respected photographer Greg Sullavan explains his journey from photography enthusiast to photography educator to photo book creator. He offers tips on preparing files and using Momento’s software to preserve his Norfolk Island series in a photo book.

How to create a photographic legacy

Darran Leal is a wild life and wild places photographer who runs the second oldest photo tour company in the world. Recently we printed his ‘photographic legacy’ book titled Wild Visions, so we’ve asked him to provide some guidelines for anyone else wanting to create a portfolio or photo book of your images that span years and possibly decades.

10 tips on how to photograph children - let the kids be kids!

Photo memories are like mini time-capsules, that when printed will carry you back to moments past. To help you get the best shots of your kids doing their thing, read on for our top ten photography tips.

The women of our world on International Womens Day

In honour of International Womens Day we want to introduce you to the fabulous females who make Momento Photo Books run so smoothly and put the TLC into our service, software and products.

In the end photos are all you have

Nadia is a portrait photographer and devoted mum of three. As an only child, and after losing her parents and grandparents within a few years, she realised that all her childhood memories were preserved not in conversations but in photos. She is now committed to creating tangible family memories, and shares her tips here.

Memory keeping with Bec Zacher

Once upon a time, Bec Zacher was a mum of three who was overwhelmed by her photo collection and a desire to preserve her family’s life story from the past 15 years. Today she’s the queen of photo memory keeping and wants to help you tame your photos and make yearbook creation easy and enjoyable.

Christmas Cards: Say it your way

Learn how to create a Christmas card that’s as unique as the person receiving it, using the templates and tools in Momento’s software. Read on for quick tips on how to choose words, fonts, photos and a layout that will make your card truly meaningful and memorable.

The birthday photo book experience

Our clever customer Karen created not only a beautiful birthday book for her brother-in-law’s 60th, but she turned it into a full experience, presenting it at the birthday party where all the guests flicked through too. There was much laughter, and a few tears!

Magic birthday photo book gifts

If you’re looking for the ultimate birthday gift, you can’t beat a specially created photo book. We promise they’ll work for everyone, and here’s a few great birthday photo book examples to get you fired up.

APS Photobook Competition winners 2020

Meet the winners of the 2020 Australian Photographic Society (APS) x Momento Pro Photobook competition. View their books and learn about the characteristics that made them so successful.

Superstar father & photo book maker

In this blog post we undo the stereotype that mums are the family memory keepers by introducing you to a dad who made 12 photo books during isolation to help his family transition from one side of the country to the other. Thank your dad this Father’s Day with a Prepaid Book voucher.

The lifetime joy of printed photos

A heartwarming photo essay featuring 93 year old Connie walking through her home, sharing her photo memories, and thoughts on how much they mean to her. Photographed by The Beautiful Collective.

Doing it for the kids!

This post explores scientific research on the benefits of photo book prints to a child’s sense of belonging, identity and self-esteem. We also learn about the field of phototherapy and share stories on how photo books have a positive impact on our customer’s kids.

Momento Pro wins #1 print award in the world

On 2 October 2019 in Chicago, Momento Pro was awarded the ultimate industry honour by winning the 2019 Premier Print Awards James H. Mayes Jr. Memorial ‘Best of Show’ prize, from 2,240 entries across 13 countries.

Finishing touches make all the difference

Design doesn’t just happen on the pages of a photo book, it’s also apparent in the choices you make about the size, format, paper, cover material and finishes for your book. This blog post gives you questions to consider if you want to create the perfect package for your photo book.

Photo book tips from our founders

We’re celebrating 15 years of Momento this September 2019, and we thought we’d give you some insight into the world of our founders and their knowledge of designing a photo book.

Cure wanderlust with a holiday book

Do you suffer from wanderlust? The desire for the freedom and adventure of travel? If so, this blog post is for you! We interview Kiwi professional photographer Katherine Williams about the leap of faith that took her and her daughters on a year long global odyssey.

Gift to the nation: Archival books honouring WW2 veterans

On 7 November 2018, Momento and the Australian Institute of Professional Photographers proudly donated an archival inkjet printed book to the National Library of Australia, to commemorate the ‘Reflections Project – Honouring our WWII Veterans.’

The art of happy photos with Bec Stewart

Family photographer, Bec Stewart is the ultimate ‘happy snapper’ having captured thousands of photos for her clients, and of her own children. In our latest blog post she shares her secrets on how to nail ‘joyful’ family photos.

Eugene Tan: Family Man

This month we’ve profiled Eugene Tan of Aquabumps who seems to have just the right balance between his busy career and being a family man. In the lead up to Father’s Day he tells us how he manages his work and play, and shares some of his family photos.

Photo book design tips

So you want to produce a creative photo book with a cracking design! After printing thousands of books, chatting to book designers, and researching photo book design theory, here are our top tips on photo book design.

Modern wedding embellishments

If you enjoy a D.I.Y. project or consider yourself a creative spirit, Momento’s software and service make it super easy for you to design your own engagement and wedding stationery, as well as photo wedding books and parent albums.

Meet our team of the decade

We’ve employed hundreds of staff since Momento was established in 2004, but we also have many who’ve been with us for over a decade. Meet them here …

Lest we forget – a soldier’s photo memoir

2018 is the last year of the ANZAC centenary so if you have a family veteran who deserves to have their legacy immortalised in a book, read on to see how John put together a soldier’s memoir for his father Bob.

Meet our bookbinder Marty

Bookbinding became a popular arts practice in the mid 15th century when the printing press was invented, and Germany was home to the best craftsmen. Our binder Marty, was trained by his German father-in-law and has now been binding for 20 years.

Promote your business with a book

Our books are used for many different purposes, to preserve holidays or histories, as wedding albums and birthday presents and increasingly for portfolios and corporate marketing. In our latest blog we look at three publications created by The Woolmark Company, Sony and ENGIE.

Family yearbooks made easy

Photos are meant to be shared and enjoyed, not stay hidden on computers, disks and clouds so do yourself a favour and print you best shots from the last 12 months in a photo book annual. Here’s our step-by-step guide on how to make a family annual in less than an hour.

Rainbow family storybooks

It’s hard to find children’s bedtime stories that feature kids with two mums or two dads but with our software and print service you can create a rainbow family storybook, or any kind of personalised book, with your own photos, images and words.

Mums in front this Mother’s Day

Mums are the protectors of family memories but rarely do they get in front of the camera! In this post we speak to Niki Boon, who takes photos of her free spirited children’s existence in Marlborough, NZ. We ask about her inspiration and entice her to take some precious family portraits – for the kid’s sake.

Annual artbooks for kids

Do you remember your parents proudly collecting and gluing your finger paintings, drawings, craft creations and records of achievement into a big scrapbook? This blog post steps you through the process of converting a towering stack of mini-Picasso’s artwork into an annual artbook keepsake.

Holiday projects with benefits

If you find yourself with some free time during the holidays you might like to invest in one of these photo projects that offer long term benefits for you and your family – start your family history research, organise your digital photos, create a yearbook or archive kid’s artwork in an annual art book.

Preserve your photographs in print

Better Photography editor, Peter Eastway, provides good reason and advice for printing your best photos from recent travels, a personal project or the last year in a book and encourages photographers to consider what their photo legacy is, especially in this age of ‘digital black holes.’

How to create a family history book

This post is for family history buffs and genealogy enthusiasts who have a huge collection of photos and documents and want to publish them in a premium Momento photo book for family to enjoy for generations to come.

How to manage your photo collection

Simple tips that will transform your mountain of digital and printed photos into a collection of memories that are organised and safe for the future.

How to create a travel book

Peter Eastway is one of Australia’s most awarded travel photographers, and editor of Better Photography magazine. He’s got thousands of hours of photography under his belt, and has produced over 10 photo books, so we asked him to give us his top tips on how to design a first class travel book.

Family History Inspiration - A Walk Down Memory Lane

August is Family History month and I think that this is a perfect time to get enthusiastic about our beginnings. Across Australia and online there are special Family History events happening all month to help you track down your ancestors.

Eye candy for every day

Get your photos and your life organised by sorting and starring your best shots from the past year in your upcoming calendar, diary or notebook. Momento makes this easy because our free layout software has readymade templates that you just drop your photos into.

Recipe books are a feast for the soul

Turn your food obsession into a creative project that is good for the soul and the stomach. Here's some enticing examples to get you started.

Creative escape – holiday book designs

Each of these books take a simple but stylish approach to design. There is no overcrowding on the pages, most layouts are symmetrical, and the use of frames and fonts is minimal. Follow these rules and you can’t go wrong. To show you how easy it is we’ve included our top software tips too.

Say “I do” to DIY Wedding design

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and Spring has sprung, which can only mean one thing … ‘Tis the wedding season again! Happy couples around Australia are currently planning creative and unique weddings, many personalising everything down to the last detail.

Homebaked Christmas Cards

Christmas is the time of year to reflect on all the good things that have happened in the last 12 months and to consider what’s really important in life. It’s also time to enjoy family and friends and let the people you care about know how much they mean. We think Christmas Cards designed by you, with your photos and words, are a simple but meaningful way to express your love, and here’s some fab examples from our customers.

Priceless Family Keepsakes

Photo books are priceless family keepsakes. Whether it's the beginning, middle, or the end of a life they're the perfect format for preserving memories for future generations.

Every dad is a hero

Each year Father’s Day rolls around and I see so many wonderful dad inspired books and cards come through our production facility celebrating a Dad’s first Father’s Day to a Grandfather’s family legacy. Throughout all these designs there seems to be one common message ‘Dad, you’re a hero to your children’. Here are some of my favourites.

Travelling vicariously with photo books

Winter may have set in but you can keep summer holiday memories fresh as you create a Momento photo book or even cards and a calendar. Here’s some of the ways our customer’s creatively tell their travel stories.

First class photography tips from Paul Daly

On June 6 we held our first ever Travel Photography workshop in the wonderful Auckland, New Zealand as part of the Auckland Festival of Photography. Talented photographer Paul Daly from Nomadic Planet enlightened and educated our audience with travel photography tips and tricks. Here are some key points from his presentation.

Hold onto your memories

We were thrilled to spot this article by Kellie Sloane in the Daily Telegraph and RendezView on the weekend, because it focuses on an issue close to our heart - saving precious personal photo memories. Kellie is a media personality and mum to three boys, and she penned this piece after the shock of nearly losing all her family photos when she unintentionally clicked on an email virus.

A serviceman’s story in a photo book

In 2014 a tribute to the 100th anniversary of the beginning of WWI was held in Rabaul, Papua New Guinea, the place where the Australian Force captured German New Guinea. This is Jimmy! He’s a 90 year old WWII digger and the son of a WWI veteran who was on the light cruiser HMAS Encounter that fired the first Australian shots in WWI.

Books for Mums, Sisters and Aunties

In many different cultures women are the memory keepers, and since Mother’s Day is on the horizon, we thought we should pay homage to all the fabulous females in our lives including mums, grandmothers, aunties and sisters. Here’s a collection of heartwarming stories from Momento customers who have preserved maternal memories in a photo book.

Handmade and heartfelt Christmas gifts

This Christmas give a gift that nobody else can – a photo book designed with love by you. Flick through some creative examples below, including a touching farewell memento, an Instagram yearbook, a cute alphabet reader and a blog-turned-printed book.

Celebratory Stationery: Birthdays, Parties, Anything

This month we’re celebrating a momentous occasion - ten years of printing your photo memories, all 70 million of them! In keeping with the festive mood we’ll show you how Momento works a treat for hosts and guests of all manner of events.

Fab Father Books

Dads the world over have received their fair share of socks and undies over the past few decades so this Father’s Day why not surprise him with something he can’t get anywhere else – a book made by you, all about him. To get inspired I went searching for some dad-loving books by our customers.

Recipe Books – A Piece of Cake

June 12 was one delicious day at Momento. We got to style, photograph and eat cake (while sipping champagne) thanks to Penelope Beveridge and her Decadent Malteser creation. Our Mother’s Day comp winners and blogger friends also joined us, and the result was a true celebration for the launch of our new hardcover spiral recipe books.

Don't Become The Invisible Mum

Janet and Liana from Mum the Photographer are multi-talented women - mothers, bloggers and photographers - and they think mums should grant themselves one special present this Mother's Day … not just a photo of their children but a photo of them with their children.

Recipe books made with love

Designing your own cookbook may sound complicated but it’s quite simple with our new recipe embellishment packs and extra powerful Quickbooks, that are ready for you to click and type in details and drop in photos. If you’d rather start from scratch or you’d like a little inspiration before embarking on your own project, here’s something we prepared earlier.

Preserving Your Memories With Peter Eastway

Do you have photographs tucked away in a drawer or a box? Precious memories of family members, annual holidays and overseas trips?The digital revolution is fantastic for everything except longevity. We take our photographs for granted, leaving them on our phone, our computer or even a special storage device, but these may not be permanent.

Embellish Your Love - Tie The Knot With Momento

Kristy Sayer is an Australian lifestyle blogger with a passion for healthy living and travel. She lives in Sydney with her husband Jesse who is originally from Louisiana, USA. Together the couple blog at southerninlaw, sharing their lives, delicious recipes and adventures along the way.

Holiday photo book tips from Peter Eastway

Off on a journey, a voyage or a great family holiday? Or perhaps you’re staying at home because you were traveling so much last year? Either way, your trip or holiday deserves a permanent record so you can share the good times and relive all the great places and people you saw. Make yourself a promise and create a photo book this holiday season!

Books Of Love

Every year Valentine’s Day rolls around and I start to feel awkward. It’s not because I don’t believe in treasuring my loved ones, but because there are so many different kinds of love in my life that I feel like celebrating every day.

A Mother's Love - Poetry, Paintings and a Portfolio

Here's a gorgeous story about a photo book made by a mother for her daughter and it highlights just how creative they both are. Proud mum Louise wanted to record her little girl Eva's artistic output but wasn’t quite sure how until Eva’s creativity inspired her further.

An Historical Journey

This August, Momento dedicated four blog posts to National Family History Month and together we documented 'Living History', and created 'Family History' photo books. Last week I received this fabulous email from Leonie, a very happy Momento customer, who had just finished her first historical family photo book 'Kilcunda Coal History'.

Living History

We have just embarked on the last week of Family History month and across Australia and online there have been many special events and competitions helping us dig a little bit deeper into our origins. In an attempt to record my own family history I have been researching and blogging about ‘history’ themed photo book designs.

Family History Book Designs

Momento's free layout software makes it easy and enjoyable to design a stylish family history book and in this post we'll offer up our biggest design tips and show how the software's hundreds of readymade graphics will help you create a professional looking publication when used in moderation.

Uncensored! Travel and Landscape Photobooks

The winners and finalists from the 2013 Head On Momento Photobook Awards

Great Tips for Producing the Perfect Holiday Photo Book

Award winning landscape and travel photographer, educator and editor of Better Photography Magazine, Peter Eastway, has been designing and publishing photo books for decades. Here he shares his invaluable wisdom on how to capture the essence of the places your visit and then transform them into a memorable holiday coffee table book.

Louise Hawson in full flight: 52 Suburbs Around The World

Last year, Australian photographer and mum Louise Hawson, set off on an adventure around the world with her daughter Coco, to photograph and share some visual and cultural insights into the world's most famous cities.

Photograph your angel like a pro

The novelty of snapping a baby’s every move obviously wore off by the time my sister was born 4 years after me. I still feel guilty she didn’t get the paparazzi treatment so I’ve decided to save thousands of children heartbreak with advice on how to take great shots of your bubba, and turn them into a priceless photo book – before it’s too late.

Mum The Memory Keeper

My mother is a glorious creature. She’s an endless source of love and support. She marvels at even my smallest achievements, encourages me, and dusts me off when things get a little rocky. She sees even my tiniest successes as one for her too.

Lets start a photo book company!

That was the crazy idea we had 10 years, 7 months and 6 days ago, when Geoff and I sat awe-inspired on the edge of Vermilion Lakes, Banff, Canada. Me with wine in hand watching the sun set, Geoff madly trying to catch the awe-inspiring moment on our beloved Sony 3 mega pixels digital camera.